Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/566726
Growing Through Change Watkins & Shepard Trucking, a Montana based company, has a strong reputation as a great place for students to gain road experience fresh out of school, and the company takes pride in that fact. In recent years, howev- er, Watkins & Shepard has been redefining their strengths and commitments to push towards company-wide growth and transformation. Chief Operating Office Walt Ainsworth said, "We've created an environment of providing premium customer service and a driver-friendly atmosphere with the best equipment available and full access to all members of our team." Ainsworth spent three years driving a truck himself before entering management. That experience gives him a good idea of the drivers' needs and expectations. A large part of Watkins & Shep- ard's transformation has been clearing out the old equipment to bring in the new. Their fleet of over 800 trucks is almost fully 12-speed automatic transmissions with the final 80 being trad- ed out in early 2016, at that point the fleet of road trucks will average less than 2 years old. Each truck is equipped with an EOBR and is governed at 65 mph. To keep up with the way that people communicate, Bluetooth has been installed on every new rig and the dispatch system has been up- dated to be cell phone friendly. The system now enables dispatchers to text loads to drivers while respecting their rest time, not tying them to the truck, and putting them back on the road more quickly. According to Joe Vandenburgh, Recruiting Manager, "Our drivers like it, it makes life a little easier on the road and they know that's why we do it." Watkins & Shepard has long been con- sidered a great place to start a career in truck driving, but part of the company's growth has been to show that it is a great place to stay for work as well. A third of the company's truck drivers have been with Watkins & Shepard for over five years. Wanting to increase the number of drivers who stay, they recognized a need to change the way they do business. That has included finding driver-friendly freight, making pay adjustments, and forming dedicated routes and regional areas for their drivers to run. Looking to "grow a fleet of profession- als," Watkins & Shepard is continuing to strengthen their numbers with more owner operators as well as company drivers, solo or teams, and they're making an initiative to hire more than one hundred veterans this year. While the execs at Watkins & Shepard are fascinated at the number of their rehires, they want to make it clear that their company is a place for drivers to stay. •